Lingering Shadows
by Nightflame203
Summary: In the wake of the tragedy of two months ago, Elouise thinks she's going mad. She could have sworn she saw someone... Someone who is supposed to be dead. With one old friend and a couple of new friends, she decides to find out exactly what is going on. Is HE really dead? OC/OC, a story I'm writing with VibeQuake, sequel to War Paint
1. Chapter 1

**Welp, here I go, already posting War Paint's sequel xD xD xD This will take a bit longer to post than the first one, though. Just because I'm still working on turning this into chapters and stuff. I am writing this whole series with VibeQuake, and we're writing each story the way I explained it at the beginning of WP**

 **I really liked the way I did the disclaimer with War Paint, so I'm doing it again here. VibeQuake and I DO NOT OWN PHINEAS AND FERB. VibeQuake owns Kirk, Artemis, Violet, Chase, Kane, Apollo, Marius, Kegan, Mavis, Kitty, Kaitlyn, Darcy, Deuce, Meredith, and Angel. I own Elouise and Katrina. THE OTHER CHARACTERS ARE PART OF THE ACTUAL SHOW AND NEITHER OF US OWN THEM.**

Elouise sighed tiredly as she clocked out of the hospital. It had been a particularly long, but particularly rewarding, shift, and she was still buzzing from having successfully saved a man's life a few hours earlier. It made her feel better, as she had failed to save one life only a couple of months before...

Elouise sighed again and shook her head, trying to clear the memories from it. Her red, curly hair- which had been raised into a high ponytail- brushed over her face, but the memories wouldn't leave.

It didn't haunt her as much nowadays, but she still desperately missed Kirk. She couldn't help wondering what life would have been like if he had survived. She would probably still be working here, but she'd arrive home late to find Kirk asleep on the sofa or tinkering with a machine or making dinner for her. They might have gotten married and maybe even had children in the future.

Elouise scoffed. _You're getting way too ahead of yourself, here._

Just as she reached her house, she saw a mysterious figure in front of it. He or she was getting too close to the windows for comfort. She narrowed her eyes and ran towards the figure. "Hey!" she yelled.

The figure glanced over at her, and she froze in her steps. No... It couldn't be... It wasn't...

The figure quickly ran off, and Elouise shook her head again to try and clear it. Kirk... He was dead. But there was no mistaking that face.

Elouise moaned and placed her hand to her head, suddenly feeling dizzy. She quietly walked into her house and closed the door behind her.

 **(...)**

The next day, the first thing Elouise did was go to O.W.C.A. "I am officially going insane," she declared once she was in Artemis' office, shutting the door behind her.

Artemis, who was sitting behind her desk, raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Elouise sat down and moaned, burying her head in her hands. "It's been two months, Artemis. I-I thought I was doing better."

Artemis inwardly grimaced- she now knew exactly what Elouise was talking about. Artemis herself had been forced to revisit that moment in her nightmares. She hadn't even really known Kirk, and yet seeing him fall to his death had not been a pleasant memory. "Have the nightmares returned?" she asked gently.

Elouise shook her head miserably. "N-no." Tears began to come to her eyes. "I-I-I was just walking home last night... But I thought I saw him. I-I thought I saw K-K-Kirk..."

Artemis frowned. "Where?"

"I-I-in front of my h-house..."

"Could you have been mistaken?" Artemis asked gently.

"Artemis... H-how could I mistake HIS face?" Elouise's voice cracked.

"I know, sweetie." Artemis's face was the picture of sympathy. "But Kirk's... He's dead." Despite the fact she was sitting on a chair, Elouise pulled her legs up against her chest and sobbed.

"Elouise, I'm sorry I had to say that. But you have to face reality: Kirk isn't coming back. You've moved on with your life, and that's good. You've made amazing progress in the month and a half you've been seeing me. Don't throw it all away now."

Elouise quieted down and wiped her tears away. "I-I-I-I... Y-Y-Y-you're r-r-r-right..."

"I know what you're going through. Trust me, I do. I've counselled more grieving relatives than years you've been alive for. I don't expect the grief to go away completely, because that's impossible. My job is to help people cope with loss and mental illness, and I know from experience that carrying on with your life is the best way to do that. Okay?"

"O-O-O-okay." Elouise managed to nod weakly, her breathing shaky.

Artemis gave her a sympathetic smile. "Do you need anything, Elouise?"

Elouise closed her eyes. "N-No... I think I-I-I'm good."

"Then if you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

"Y-yeah." Elouise managed a small smile and nodded.

 **:( :( :(**


	2. Chapter 2

She didn't really feel like going into work, but she did anyway. "Elouise? Are you doing okay?" her friend asked concernedly.

Elouise looked blearily up at her friend. "O-Oh, V-Violet... How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." Violet crossed her arms sympathetically. "You're a mess. What's wrong?"

Elouise shook her head. "It's nothing."

Violet's eyes narrowed. "No, it isn't. That's it, come with me." She took hold of Elouise's wrist and started tugging her out of the room.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To get cake."

Elouise chuckled weakly. "What about our job?"

"We're officially on a break unless there's an emergency."

"O-Oh..."

Violet dragged Elouise to the hospital canteen and ordered two slices of chocolate cake. Elouise sighed and chuckled again. "Thanks, Violet."

"It doesn't come free," warned Violet, stabbing her slice with a fork. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Elouise hesitated. "D-D-Do you remember when you asked me about my l-love life a little over a month ago, and I didn't answer?"

Violet nodded. "W-w-well, I had m-my reasons..." A few tears came into Elouise's eyes. "A month before... The man I-l-l-loved... He...d-d-died..."

Violet's eyes widened. "Oh, you poor thing! No wonder you didn't want to talk about it!"

"Y-Y-yeah... L-last night, when I was going home, I..." Her voice cracked. "I thought I saw him."

Violet stared at her. "Seriously? But he's... He IS gone, right?"

"H-He... He has to be..." Elouise sighed. "I-I-I hate trying to accept it, but... I-It's... H-He.. He couldn't have survived...!"

Violet patted Elouise on the shoulder, unsure of what to say. Elouise sighed. "I-I-it just..."

"I get it. That'd shake ANYONE up, El." Violet gave her a reassuring smile. "You'll get through this."

"Y-Yeah." Elouise managed to put on a brave smile.

"Do you need anything?"

Elouise chuckled. "To finish this cake," she grinned weakly.

Violet laughed. "That's my girl."

 **(...)**

Her day at work actually wasn't that bad, thanks to Violet. The doctor was doing everything she could to make Elousie feel better, and it was working. Plus, they didn't have that much to do.

They both ended up clocking out four hours earlier than Elouise had yesterday; at her normal time.

Violet hugged her. "Do you want me to come home with you?" At Elouise's hesitation, she added, "I'll bring popcorn and a movie or something."

"Well... Okay."

Violet looked concerned. "If you'd prefer to be alone, that's fine."

"No." Elouise smiled. "I'd like to be with someone."

Violet smiled back. "Alright, then. You pick the movie, I'll get the snacks."

"Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I don't know if you could tell, but I'm going to try and include ANs in this story as little as possible ;P ;P Now, on with the story!**

They met up back at Elouise's house. Violet had brought popcorn, some sodas, and a large bag of doritos to share. "What movie did you pick?" she asked.

"The Grievance."

Violet raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Hey, it actually helps me," Elouise defended.

Violet grinned. "Alright, but don't blame me when I have to hide behind you."

Elouise chuckled. "Alright."

Sure enough, they were only halfway into the movie when Violet grabbed a cushion and hid her face behind it. "Why?" she moaned. "Why would you go into the haunted basement, you idiot?"

Elouise laughed and decided not to say anything- she had seen the movie several times now and didn't mind how loud her friend was being.

"She's going to get viciously slaughtered, isn't she?" moaned Violet.

"I'm not saying anything."

Violet peeked out from behind the cushion just as the Grievance girl popped up onscreen, causing her to scream and slip off the sofa.

"We could stop if you want."

Violet grinned and shook her head. "Nah, it's cheering you up, so I'm good. I'll just have to try and prevent a heart attack."

"Even if you did get a heart attack, both of us are well-equipped to deal with it," Elouise said, making both of them laugh. "But, seriously, thanks so much, Violet."

Violet smiled. "No problem. I hate seeing my best friend slipping slowly into insanity."

Elouise playfully swatted her friend's shoulder, then stopped. "W-Was I really that bad...?"

Violet shook her head. "No, I was kidding. Although... Maybe there IS something wrong in your brain if you're so sure that you saw you-know-who so clearly."

Elouise exhaled. "Y-Yeah. What's frustrating is that we... We only knew each other a few days before he... He..." Elouise inhaled sharply, yet shakily. "I-I guess part of it is it bugs me that this is affecting me so much."

Violet grimaced. "You only knew each other a few days and yet you were still in love?"

"It makes me sound pathetic," Elouise sighed.

"No, no." Violet shook her head again. "It's adorable, actually. It's amazing how in love you must have been, if you're still being affected by his death for more time than you've actually known him."

Elouise sighed again, feeling a couple of tears coming into her eyes. Violet took her into a one-armed hug, pausing the movie. She paused as Elouise began crying, then offered her the popcorn bowl.

"T-Thanks. I-I-I miss him, Vi."

"I totally understand, El. Do you want to stop the movie?"

"M-M-Maybe I just need a s-small break," Elouise sniffled.

Violet smiled and stood up. "A walk?"

"That sounds n-nice."

"I'll give you a minute to clear yourself up," Violet said kindly. "I'll be waiting outside."

Elouise smiled weakly. "T-Thanks."

She went into the bathroom and splashed water onto her face to clean it of tears. _Keep it together,_ she told her reflection in the mirror. _It's been two months, and you're with Violet. You can do this._

But some part of her brain kept reminding her of the figure she had seen; she was SURE it was Kirk...

 _STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!_ she screamed in her head _. It wasn't him. It couldn't possibly have been him. There's NO WAY it was him._

Elouise growled under her breath. "Stop thinking about it," she told her reflection firmly. "Right. Now. You're going to have a lovely walk with Violet, and you're going to stop obsessing over something that probably didn't even happen."

Repeating this over and over in her mind, she inhaled deeply and walked outside. Violet met her outside, just as she said she would. "Feeling better?" she asked as Elouise approached.

"Meh."

"Fair enough. Where do you want to go?" Violet looked up into the dark sky. "Doesn't look like it's going to rain, so do you want to go to the park?"

Elouise managed a smile. "Sure."

"Come on, then." Elouise followed her friend to the park, just breathing in the cool, crisp night air. It made her feel a lot calmer and more relaxed inside, especially since it was quiet and only a little bit cold.

After about ten minutes, Violet squeezed her shoulder gently. "How are you feeling?"

"More relaxed." Elouise smiled at Violet. "Thanks for this."

"You're my friend. It's no problem." They sat down on a bench and stared up into the starry sky.

"Elouise," Violet finally said after a few more minutes, "w-would it be too hard for you to tell me about him? T-The man you're grieving?"

Elouise hesitated. "I don't know..."

"I-it's fine if you can't," Violet replied quickly. "I was just curious."

 _How much can I tell her about him without revealing anything about L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N?_ Elouise worried.

"Well..." She began finally. "H-He... He wasn't perfect," she chuckled. "When I met him, he almost seemed to hate his older brother... So much to the point of wanting to get revenge on him for something his brother didn't even know about."

Violet raised her eyebrows. "Wow..."

"That's what I thought. And... The irony was that at first, I was only spending time with him because his brother had asked me to, so he could find out how he was doing."

"Ah..."

Elouise glanced at the ground. "I-I don't know if Kirk really ever forgave me for that..."

Violet didn't need clarification as to who Kirk was. "I'm sure he did."

"B-but you weren't there, Vi. You didn't see his face when he found out... A-And only a couple of hours later, h-h-he was..." Elouise's breathing began to get shaky.

"Okay, stop thinking about it," Violet said quickly.

"Y-Yeah." Elouise nodded weakly.

"So, hey, you know that really fit male nurse in our department?"

"I swear, if you're trying to hook me up..."

Violet shook her head frantically. "No, no! I'm taking about for me!"

Elouise laughed weakly. "Oh, I get it. Sorry... It's just... My first thought..."

"No, it's fine. I'd have been confused, too." Violet grinned. "I just want your advice. Do you know the nurse, I mean?"

"Maybe...?"

"Chase King?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah!"

"Do you know what he likes?"

"Sorry... No, I don't. I don't know him that well, unfortunately."

"Ugh..." Violet grinned. "I really want to impress him. I do have a bit of a crush on him."

"Don't TRY to impress him," advised Elouise with a smile. "Just be yourself and act normal around him. If he doesn't fall for you because of that, then you shouldn't be together."

Violet sighed. "Well, he's asked me to get a coffee with him tomorrow at break time..."

"That's great!"

"That's why I want to impress him," Violet said. "But there's also the danger of him feeling inferior to me."

Elouise chuckled. "Really, Violet, you're overthinking this."

"Well, I'm a female doctor, and he's a male nurse," fretted Violet. "Men can feel inferior if women have better jobs than them, especially in a hospital."

"Calm down, Vi."

Violet groaned. "What if he only asked me out platonically?!"

"Then at least he likes you, and that's a start," Elouise offered.

Violet groaned again. "I wish emotions weren't this complicated."

"You and me both," Elouise sighed.

They stayed in silence for a few minutes. "Want to go finish the movie?" Violet said finally.

"Sure."


	4. Chapter 4

**One thing I'm pointing out for this chapter is that I wrote most of it. Normally, this wouldn't be the case, but I wrote a scene we decided to include, so…. xP xP xP**

After they finished the movie and Violet left, it was early in the morning. Luckily, Elouise had the day off from work. She went to bed and slept until noon.

When she woke up, she looked out the window...and thought she saw the figure again. The figure who had been in front of her house a couple days ago.

Her heart both leapt and sank at the thought of possibly seeing Kirk's face again, so she cautiously went downstairs and opened the door. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. It WAS the figure again. What was he doing?

 _Don't trick me again, mind._ She quietly crept after the figure, very nervous about what she'd end up seeing.

She managed to follow him into an alleyway when she accidentally revealed herself by bumping into something. The figure whirled around, and Elouise gasped.

"E-E-Elouise...?!"

"K-Kirk?!" She was seeing Kirk AGAIN! And... And she just now heard him...

Tears began to come into Elouise's eyes as she stared at "Kirk". "N-N-No... I-I-I-It's not r-r-rea... Y-Y-You're not... Kirk is dead!"

Elouise burst into tears as the figure came closer and gently pulled her into his arms. "Kirk is alive," he said gently into her ear. "And he's right in front of you..."

"Y-You're really...? N-N-No..." Elouise tried weakly to shake her head firmly. "Y-y-you died two months a-a-ago..."

"I survived," he murmured.

Elouise backed away and looked into his eyes... It was Kirk. It really, truly was Kirk. "You..."

There was silence for a minute as Elouise tried to speak. "Y-Y-Y-You... You...

"You SELFLESS IDIOT!" she screamed finally, shoving him backwards. "WE ALL THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

She cried as Kirk pulled her gently against his chest. "E-E-Elouise..."

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she yelled, her voice cracking. However, Kirk knew she didn't mean it, so he just pulled her closer. She sobbed into his shirt. "K-Kirk... It's been two months... I thought you cared about me, but you don't even let me know you're alive?!" For TWO MONTHS?!"

Kirk's eyes widened. "Elouise, I..."

"I did see you the other day, didn't I? I-I-In front of my house..."

Kirk glanced at the ground. "Y-Yeah..."

"Then why did you run off?! WHY DIDN'T YOU EVEN TALK TO ME?!"

Tears were streaming down Elouise's cheeks by now, but Kirk gently brushed them away. "I'm so sorry," he murmured. Gently, he pulled Elouise into a kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Elouise rested her head on his chest. "Then... Come home with me," she replied gently, resting her hand next to her head.

Kirk hesitated and stepped away. "I-I-I can't..."

"Wha... What do you mean?"

He was silent, and he began to walk off without saying anything.

"Kirk? DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME AGAIN!" screamed Elouise.

But he was gone- just as quickly as he had appeared. Elouise fell onto her knees, sobbing.


	5. Chapter 5

"I saw him for real this time!" Elouise yelled, bursting into Artemis' office. "He spoke to me! I saw his face up close! It's HIM!"

Artemis' eyes widened. "E-Elouise, calm down... There's no way you saw Kirk- you know that."

"I thought there wasn't, but he spoke to me!" Elouise paced up and down the office. "I touched him! He's really alive!"

Artemis sighed. "Elouise, I'm sorry, but it must have been a dream."

Elouise shook her head firmly. "No way. It wasn't a dream. It was noon today. I woke up and went outside and saw him and chased him into the alley. If it was a dream, then I'm still dreaming now," she finished firmly.

Artemis hesitated, still not looking convinced. "What did he say?"

"He..." Elouise suddenly burst into tears.

Artemis sighed. She was unsure of what to do, which was a first in her book. "H-he hardly said anything. H-H-he just...left."

"Did he say why?"

"N-No."

Artemis frowned. "I hate to not believe you, Elouise, but..."

"Artemis, I KNOW it was him!"

"Kirk is dead, Elouise!"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" Elouise screamed suddenly. "How do you know for sure?! How does ANYONE?! We've all just assumed that, but I just saw him!"

Artemis flinched. "You need to calm down."

Elouise placed her hands over her mouth and sat down. "I... I'm sorry. I-It's just... Artemis, I saw him. I TALKED to him. He..." she hesitated. "H-He held me in his arms."

"Please, Elouise, you have to trust me when I say that I'd love nothing more than to believe you; it's just that... I-I don't know... It's almost impossible."

"You're right." Elouise closed her eyes, but not before a few tears managed to escape. "But you also have to trust ME, Artemis. I know grief can make people imagine things, but I SWEAR I wasn't imagining that."

"Have you told Kane?" Elouise shook her head. "You'd better do that, then."

"G-Good idea."

 **(...)**

Kane was in his office, as he always was, when Elouise walked in. "Elouise?" Kane immediately took in her appearance. "You look awful. What's wrong?"

Elouise tried to speak, but she ended up bursting into tears for the umpteenth time that day. Kane ran around his desk and put his arm around her. "Is it...to do with...y-you know...?"

Since Kirk's death, Kane had had trouble even saying his little brother's name.

"Y-Y-Yeah."

Kane exhaled sympathetically. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I already talked with Artemis, but she didn't really believe me..."

"Believe you?" Kane frowned. "About what?"

"Kane... K-K-Kirk... H-H-He's alive."

Kane stared at Elouise in shock for a few seconds, before suddenly stumbling backwards and hitting his desk. "N-N-N-No," he stammered. "Th-There's no w-way...!"

"T-That's what I thought. But... Kane... I-I-I talked to him."

"That's not possible," croaked Kane. "He… He's g-gone..."

"K-K-Kane, I... I-I-I-it's tr..."

"IT CAN'T BE!" Kane shrieked suddenly, violently upturning his desk.

Elouise blinked, her breathing still shaky. "K-Kane...?"

Kane angrily kicked the upturned desk. Then he gasped in pain and cradled his hand. There was a long cut- probably from a splinter- down his palm. "Kane...!" Elouise grabbed Kane and made him sit down. "Why are you reacting this way?!"

"Because he is still messing with our brains, even from beyond the grave!" Kane screeched. "HE NEVER STOPS MESSING WITH US!"

"KANE!" Elouise burst into tears.

Kane either didn't notice or didn't care. He pushed Elouise off him and strode angrily to the window. He slammed his injured hand into the wall over and over again. "Whether you're dead or not, you just can't stop messing with people, can you?!" he cried.

"Kane!"

Kane slammed his head against the window and held it there through the pain of his headache. "WHY?!" he yelled to the floor. "I SWEAR, IF HE'S ALIVE AND I EVER GET MY HANDS ON KIRK-"

"IF HE'S ALIVE, THEN DON'T YOU DARE HURT HIM!" Elouise screamed back, her voice cracking.

All of a sudden, Apollo burst into the room. "What on earth is going on in here?!" he shouted. Elouise collapsed to the ground in tears, and Kane sighed, turning to face Apollo.

Katrina appeared behind Apollo, flushed from running. "What's all the screaming about?" she asked. Spotting Elouise, she raised an eyebrow. "And why is Elouise sobbing on the floor?"

Apollo moved over to her and put his arms around her. Kane sighed again and bent down to his knees. "E-Elouise, I-I..."

"What did you do?" Apollo demanded.

"I-I didn't do anything!"

"You KNOW she's in a delicate condition!" Apollo snapped. "Did you mention Kirk to her?"

"She mentioned him first!" Kane protested defensively.

"H-He didn't do anything," Elouise managed to say. "I-I-I just... I don't know what came o-over me..."

"You know I wouldn't really hurt Kirk if he's alive, right?" Kane asked seriously. "I might punch him for staying away so long, but I would never actually hurt him."

Elouise nodded quietly.

"Hold on, WHAT?!" Apollo's eyes flickered from Elouise to Kane, then to Katrina to see if she was hearing and/or following this, then back to Kane. "What did I miss?"

"Apparently, Elouise talked to Kirk earlier," Kane said quietly.

Apollo stared at them. "But Kirk's dead... Right?"

Elouise managed to shake her head. "I-I know what I s-s-saw, Apollo. A-And I didn't just see him... I DID talk to him, and... And I touched him..."

"Have you told Artemis about this?" Apollo asked gently. "She can help your state of mind."

"She didn't believe me!" Elouise snapped.

Apollo glanced at Katrina, and Elouise realized something horrible. "You don't believe me either, do you?"

Apollo shrugged helplessly. "This...has all the signs of a mind wracked with grief..." Elouise gave a shaky sigh that quickly turned into a sob.

Worse, now Kane was looking doubtful, too. Everyone in the room was, even Katrina. Elouise somehow managed to get to her feet. She stormed past all of them and out the room in tears.

It's what she did all the way to the park, where she sat down on a bench and tried to calm herself. But she couldn't.

She could barely process that nobody believed her. She hated the fact that everybody was dismissing what she KNEW she had seen as just Elouise's way of trying to cope with the immense grief.

But she knew what she had seen. She had TOUCHED Kirk and SPOKEN to him. There was no mistaking that it had been Kirk.

 _What if he needs our help? What if that's why he's barely shown his face for the past months? What if we're so convinced he's dead that he WILL die from something else?!_

"Excuse me?" said a man's voice. "Are you-" He stopped. "E-Elouise?!" Elouise opened her eyes and weakly brushed away her tears before looking over to where the voice came from.

She saw a vaguely familiar male face gazing down at her in shock and concern. "It is you!" he gasped.

"Sh-Should I know you?" sniffled Elouise.

"Oh, of course you wouldn't recognize me." The man smiled. "We only saw each other for a few hours two months ago. My name is Marius Monogram: Major Monogram's son. I was the bodyguard stationed outside your house in the couple of weeks after you moved back there."

"O-Oh." Elouise brushed aside the tears that had returned to her face.

"Anyway, why are you out here alone and so upset?"

Elouise inhaled shakily. "D-Do you remember what happened a-a couple of weeks before I moved back into m-m-my house?"

"You said someone you loved had died," said Marius sympathetically.

"Y-Y-Yeah." Elouise nodded shakily. "W-Well... H-He apparently didn't..."

Marius raised his eyebrows. "Ah... Want to talk about it?"

"I've talked with four people about it already, and they haven't believed me..."

"You haven't tried me yet." Marius smiled kindly. "I have a very open mind."

Elouise chuckled weakly. "T-T-Then I guess I could..." Marius sat down next to Elouise and smiled at her, inviting her to explain.

"E-E-Earlier today... I-I talked to the person I thought was dead." Marius looked at her strangely but said nothing.

"I-I-It was about noon." Elouise took in a deep breath. "I-I saw him and followed him. It looked like him, sounded like him... I even felt him. M-M-Marius, he's still alive!"

Marius frowned down at the ground and continued to say nothing. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"No," Marius said, still staring down at the ground. "I'm coming up with a plan to find him."

Elouise blinked, this time no tears coming with it. "W-what?!"

"I may be an O.W.C.A. agent, but I can track almost anyone I want. If you take me back to the site where you saw him, I can try to determine which way he went and eventually track him."

Elouise brushed away her left-over tears. "Y-Y-You really believe me?"

Marius nodded and smiled. "I told you I have an open mind."

"Y-Y-Yeah, but..." Elouise shook her head to clear it. "Thank you so much."

"No problem." Marius smiled. "Besides, I hate seeing you so upset."

"I don't like BEING so upset." Elouise gave him a weak smile.

"Okay, so I'll need you to take me back to where you saw him, okay?"

Elouise nodded. "Follow me."


	6. Chapter 6

Since her encounter with Kirk had only been a couple of hours before, she still easily remembered the alley she had spoken to him in.

Marius hummed in thought as he stared down the alley. He got down on his hands and knees and inspected the ground. Meanwhile, Elouise was sitting quietly on the ground, thinking about what had happened earlier. _Why didn't he even tell me where he had to go?_

"Do you know what direction he went in?" Marius called.

"Yeah." Elouise pointed in the direction Kirk had gone in earlier. "I was too shocked by what had just happened to follow him any further."

Marius traced the ground in the direction that she had indicated. "Hmm..."

"Are you finding anything?"

"First rule of tracking: there's always a trail," Marius said quietly, going to the edge of the alley. "And it looks like this trail is going into Danville Forest."

"T-The forest?" Elouise stood up shakily.

Marius nodded. "Do you want to follow it?"

"Of course!"

"Follow me."

"Okay."

Marius led Elouise down the trail, and they soon entered the forest. The tree canopies made it dark in there, and the two of them held hands so that they wouldn't get separated.

"E-Elouise?!" It was the voice. It was HIS voice!

Marius froze, but Elouise stepped towards where the voice had come from, letting go of his hand. "Kirk, PLEASE." Elouise's voice cracked. "I need to talk to you."

There was a pause. "How did you find me?"

Marius lifted a hand up. "Hey."

"Please, Kirk... Come here."

Another pause. Then: "I can't. You're not supposed to be here."

"Kirk, what HAPPENED?!" Elouise's voice cracked. "Wh-Why did you hardly talk to me earlier?! Why can't you come back with me?! Why did you leave without even telling me where you were going?! Why-"

"Elouise." His voice was gentle, sad, and slightly amused.

"Please come back," Elouise begged. "P-Please."

"I can't. I'm sorry, Elouise."

"WHY NOT?!" Elouise screamed.

"Believe me... Please. If I could tell you, I would. If I could leave with you, I would. If I could answer all your questions, I would. But I can't."

Elouise gasped as Kirk finally stepped into the light. He looked awful: his hair and skin looked uncared for, his clothes were dirty, and he had a haunted look in his face. "Just tell Kane I'm alive. And tell him... Kegan."

"Kegan?" Elouise repeated. "But Kirk, what-"

But Kirk was already gone.

Elouise started taking in deep breaths. Marius quickly noticed that they were speeding up, though. Her breathing was now fast, audible, and shaky.

"Elouise, breathe!" he cried quickly, racing to her side. He placed a hand on her back and another on her shoulder to steady her. Her breathing slowed down, but her breaths came out as choked sobs.

"Okay, okay..." Marius was panicking. He had no idea what to do; his forte began and ended with tracking.

Elouise fell down onto her knees and sobbed. "Oh, gosh..." Marius bit his lip. "L-Let's get you back to O.W.C.A." He hesitantly helped pick her back up onto her feet and began to lead her out of the forest.

 **So Elouise WASN'T imagining things... I:} I:} I:}**


	7. Chapter 7

Kane happened to be coming out of O.W.C.A. at the same time as they approached. Marius was now carrying Elouise in a bridal lift, which worried Kane considerably. "Oh, my gosh, is she okay?!" he screeched, racing towards them.

"She had an...experience," Marius replied hesitantly.

Kane studied him. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I...might have."

Kane frowned as Marius told them the story of what had happened. "So... You BOTH saw Kirk this time?"

"Yes." Marius nodded firmly. "I know it's hard to believe, but we did."

Kane frowned again. "Did he say anything this time?"

"Well... He said to tell you he's alive..." Marius hesitated. "He had been talking to Elouise, but, well..." Marius gestured with his head down to the girl in his arms, who had fallen asleep on the walk back to O.W.C.A. "He also said to tell you 'Kegan'. That was it; he then left."

Kane's reaction was instant. His face paled and he staggered back a few paces, bending over as if he was about to be sick. "No...!" he moaned. "No, no, no...!"

Marius raised an eyebrow. "Yeah...?"

"I-I should have known!" growled Kane. "I should have known!"

"Would you mind explaining for the completely uninformed, conscious person?"

"I can't," Kane said, narrowing his eyes at Marius.

"That seems to be happening an awful lot lately," commented Marius coolly.

"Elouise deserves to know before a total stranger," snapped Kane.

"Speaking of which, she's getting heavy. Is there somewhere we can put her inside?"

"We'll take her to the medical bay," Kane said, helping Marius support her weight. "Katrina and Apollo can help her."

"Got it."

The two men together carried Elouise to the medical bay. Apollo's head shot up as soon as they brought her in. "What happened?!"

"She's just asleep, but she's had a shock," Marius replied.

"And who are you?" demanded Apollo.

"Marius Monogram," he sighed. "Seriously, I'm honestly surprised you don't know me."

"Oh, you're the Major's son," Apollo realized. "Sorry. I know your siblings Monty and Mavis better."

"Of course you do," Marius sighed.

Apollo tried not to grin. "Okay, so, did you see what happened to Elouise?"

"Yeah." Marius explained what he and Elouise had experienced, and Apollo's eyes widened.

"Oh..." The doctor shot Elouise a guilty look. Katrina also looked guilty, even though she hadn't actually said anything to Elouise, because she too had disbelieved Elouise.

There were a couple minutes of awkward silence before Elouise moaned and slowly sat up on the cot she had been placed on. "Wha-What happened?" She glanced up and found four people looking down at her. She blushed awkwardly. "H-How did I get here?"

"I carried you." Marius smiled sympathetically. "That encounter took a lot out of you."

Elouise exhaled and closed her eyes. "No kidding..."

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Elouise replied truthfully.

"Makes sense."

Apollo sighed. "Elouise... I'm sorry we didn't believe you." Elouise didn't reply. Apollo awkwardly said, "B-But please try to understand what was going through OUR minds..."

"I-I-I..." Elouise inhaled. "I get it. But I think he needs our help." She turned to Kane. "K-Kane, he said..."

"I know," Kane replied quietly. "Marius told me."

"Said what?" asked Katrina.

"Just...a name...?" Elouise answered in a confused tone.

"Kegan," growled Kane.

"Mind filling us in on what's obviously an inside joke between you two?" Marius asked, crossing his arms.

"An inside joke?" Kane's voice went quiet and dangerous. "So it's "obviously an inside joke", is it? This all seems like a joke to you, doesn't it?"

"Hey, I was just joking," Marius defended. "Now, on a scale of one to ten, about how bad is this?"

"To the whole world? About six." Kane shot a look at Elouise. "To Kirk, a full ten."

"Well, then, what do we do?!" Elouise snapped worriedly.

Kane hesitated. "To tell you that, I have to explain who Kegan is and why he poses such a threat to my family... Which means revisiting some painful memories." Everyone waited quietly for him to explain.

Kane sighed. "When I was a little boy, my father walked out on me, Kirk, and our older brother. He took our sister, who was just older than Kirk, with him. From then on, our mother had to work two jobs in order to keep enough money coming in to feed us, which meant she was never home. She relied on our older brother to look after us pretty much 24/7. But he... He terrorized us, basically. He kept all the good food for himself and quite often starved us. He bullied us, pushed us around, and treated us like we weren't even human beings, let alone related to him.

"Once, he... He and Kirk were climbing a tree and he kicked Kirk off. Kirk almost broke his neck. But our older brother didn't even care, let alone take him to a hospital. I was only ten years old, but I still managed to drag Kirk all the way to the hospital.

"When we all grew up and went our separate ways, I thought I would never have to see our older brother again." Kane took a shaky breath. "Except now..." He hesitated. "You've probably worked it out already, but Kegan is our older brother. And if he has Kirk, then he's certainly not treating him very well."

Elouise put a hand to her mouth. She felt like she would be sick. Her breathing quickly became erratic. Kane wasn't much better. He turned away from the group and closed his eyes, pressing his hand against his stomach as nausea rose up inside him.

Wordlessly, Katrina moved to comfort Elouise while Apollo placed his hand on Kane's back, steadying him. "That was very brave of you," Apollo said quietly. "Nobody likes reliving painful memories."

"I was so glad when we separated," Kane mumbled. "But now Kegan... H-He's back... A-And K-K-Kirk... H-He's my little brother..."

Apollo frowned sympathetically. "Is there any way to beat him?" Elouise also looked up, wanting to hear the answer.

Kane hesitated. "Y-Yes. There is a way."

"What?"

"Kitty."

 **Aw, poor Kirk and Kane :( :( Also…. Who's Kitty?! xD xD xD You'll find out next chapter**


	8. Chapter 8

"Kitty who?" Marius asked, cocking his head.

"My sister Kitty," Kane sighed. "I don't like having to bring her into this, but I think she might be our only hope at stopping Kegan. I dimly remember that she was the only one he was ever afraid of, and, even if that's not true nowadays, Kitty is now a British Intelligence officer stationed in Star Norton, since she was taken to England by our father as a child. She's highly skilled and an amazing hacker. She'd be a great addition to our team."

"C-Can you get in contact with her?" Elouise asked worriedly.

"I know where she lives, but if she isn't there, then I won't know where she is."

Marius sighed. "I guess that's better than nothing..."

Kane folded his arms. "So what are YOU doing next?" he asked Marius. "Elouise and I are going to see Kitty, while Apollo and Katrina stay here and continue working. What are you going to do?"

Marius hesitated. "Can I not come with you?"

Kane glanced at Elouise. "Do you want him to come with us?"

"Well, he WAS the only person who believed me about Kirk," Elouise retorted.

Kane winced. "Sorry... But can you blame us?"

Elouise huffed. "Guess not."

"So..." Marius paused, an uncertain look in his eye. "I'm not trying to sway your decision, but DO you want me to come?"

"Yeah." Elouise nodded gratefully. "That would honestly be great for me."

Marius smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Elouise."

"Could I ask why that would be so great?" Kane asked.

"He's the reason we found Kirk in the first place. He might be helpful at finding Kitty. Plus, he's good company."

Marius continued smiling. "Thanks."

Kane glowered. "Fine."

"What's your problem with him?" Elouise asked, cocking her head.

Kane scowled. "He just doesn't seem like he's taking this as seriously as it is, that's all."

"So one comment from me makes you dislike me?" Marius asked with a blink.

Kane turned away. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're a retired field team leader, yes?"

Marius raised an eyebrow. "And you knew that how...?"

Kane ignored the question. "Got a bit of a dark spot in your career, don't you?" he leered. "Summer of 2008, am I right?" Marius grimaced and didn't answer.

"Leading two teams of five into battle against an army of thugs," Kane said forcefully, balling his fists and glaring at Marius. "One bad call resulting in half the agents' deaths and the other half carrying scars for life. And you?" Kane took a step towards Marius, who squeezed his eyes shut in pain. "You emerged completely fine. No repercussions to sending those agents to their deaths!"

"Darling?" Katrina placed a hand on Marius' shoulder.

"He-he's right," choked Marius. "B-but... Why…?"

"Why does that make me hate you?" Kane turned to the side. "Let's see if this jogs your memory." He lifted up his shirt and displayed a massive scar from a burn all over his side. "I was one of the agents you sent running to fight that guy with a flamethrower. 'It's only one guy; it doesn't matter that he's got a flamethrower.'"

Marius flinched. "I've never forgotten those words," Kane snarled. "The last words you said to us before three friends of mine were killed right in front of me."

"Kane," Katrina said firmly. "This is obviously affecting him now, and badly at that. You can calm down."

"It's affecting HIM?!" Kane snapped. "I'm the one with a scar!"

"A physical one, maybe!" Elouise shot. "But you're not the only one here with a scar!"

Kane angrily growled at them. "I thought you'd be on my side!" he yelled, before storming out of the room.

Katrina felt under her hand that Marius was shaking. "Darling?" she asked concernedly.

"H-He's right," Marius stammered. "It-It was all m-my fault..."

"What happened?" Elouise asked gently. "From your own point of view?"

Marius took a deep breath. "Like Kane said, I was the leader of a group of ten people in all, including me. The mission went... It went SO badly. First of all, we were sent in blind, so we had no idea that we'd be facing an army as large as we had to face.

"Then... I-I panicked. I'd been used to leading teams of four other people in fights where the numbers were even. There... We were literally ten to one. I tried my hardest to make good calls, but... Well... F-Five people died, including the three people that Kane mentioned whom I sent with him to fight a guy with a flamethrower."

Marius slowly sank to his knees. "O-One bad call led to five p-people's deaths... And that's not mentioning the mental scarring that was inflicted on the survivors."

He took in another deep breath, but this one was shaky. "Kane has every right to be angry with me."

Katrina hugged him gently, bending to her own knees. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

Elouise stood up. "I'll go talk to Kane."

"Good luck," Apollo said, going to find some kind of medication to help Marius.

But he wasn't in his office, like Elouise had expected. Instead, Kane was outside. He was marching up and down, hugging himself against the cold air, an expression of somewhere between anger and sadness on his face.

"Kane?" Elouise asked quietly.

"I wish it really was his fault," Kane said bitterly, kicking the ground. "Then I'd have someone to blame for what happened. Instead, every time I go off at him, there's some niggling part of me that hates what I'm saying because I know it's not true."

"He DOES blame himself... But I don't really feel like there's anyone to blame here."

"I need someone to blame," Kane growled. "It's not fair that I had to be part of such a terrifying experience, watch three of my closest friends die, AND get permanently scarred on my side, and not have anyone to blame for it."

"I'm not in a very different position," Elouise mumbled.

"But you DO have someone to blame." Kane balled his fists. "Kegan. I'M blaming him. And I'm going to beat him up, even if it turns out that he saved Kirk's life."

"I don't really have anyone to blame for losing Kirk in the first place."

Kane bowed his head. "We-We're wasting time. I don't want Marius along because of all the painful memories his presence brings up, but if you do, then I will try and soldier on."

"Thank you," Elouise smiled weakly.

Kane sighed. "For Kirk."

"Yeah."


	9. Chapter 9

Marius was feeling better after a bit of medication and a lot of soothing from Katrina and Apollo, but he instantly panicked when he saw Kane coming back into the room. He jumped to his feet and backed away fearfully.

Kane inhaled. "Marius, don't... There's no need to be scared of me."

"But you're right; it's all my fault." Marius buried his head in his hands. "I-I never even apologized to you, Kane... I-I-I'm so s-s-sorry... I r-ruined your career as a f-field agent..."

Kane glanced at the ground. "What's done is done," he said finally.

"Th-That just makes it so much worse." Marius forced himself to stand up straight. "Kane, I won't get in your way."

He looked sadly at Elouise, who had come in behind Kane. "I'm so sorry, Elouise, but I-I can't continue this journey with you. I'll go to Danville Forest to see if I can continue tracking Kirk, but I can't stay with you or Kane any longer. I'm sorry."

Elouise hesitated. "I-If that's what you think's best..."

Marius nodded miserably. "I'm so sorry, Elouise." He moved forward and embraced her. "I'll continue to help in any way I can, but you and Kane need to do this alone. You're the ones who are truly affected by this situation with Kirk."

"Okay. I understand."

"Good luck, guys." Marius went over to the door, then stopped, turned, and tossed a communicator to Elouise, who caught it easily. "If I find anything, I'll get in touch. And vice versa, okay?"

"Got it." Elouise nodded. "Be careful."

"You, too." He gave one final smile, then he disappeared.

"Five minutes ago, I'd have given anything for him to say and do that," sighed Kane. "Now I just feel bad."

"Kane..."

He shook his head. "No. We're running out of time; we have to go now." Kane glanced at Katrina and Apollo. "Don't tell Major Monogram about this until I say so, just in case this spirals into something we can't control."

Apollo and Katrina nodded in understanding. Kane breathed in deeply, then glanced at Elouise. "Ready to begin this journey?"

Elouise nodded. "Yeah."

"Then let's go."

 **(...)**

It wasn't until after the sun set that they finally managed to reach Kitty's house. After knocking a few times, Kane sank down on the doorstep, head in hands. "She's not home..."

Elouise peered through the window. "The house looks lived in, though. Maybe she'll come back if we wait?"

Kane frowned. "I guess we could wait for her..."

Elouise glanced at the ground. "I just hope she doesn't take too long." She sat down next to Kane, and they were both silent for a while.

"I'm normally really patient, but this is testing even me," Elouise groaned after half an hour.

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting," Kane said automatically, grinning. "At least that's what my wife says."

Elouise blinked in shock. "You... You have a WIFE?!"

Kane stared at her. "I never told you?" He sighed. "It's Marius' older sister Mavis."

"Whoa..."

"I hope she's doing okay at home." Kane sighed again. "She may be a former O.W.C.A. agent, but looking after twin toddler girls by herself can't be easy."

"Aw!" Elouise smiled. "You're a dad?"

Kane also smiled. "Yeah. We have twin girls: Kaitlyn and Darcy. Two years old."

Elouise grinned. "That's awesome! Congratulations!"

Kane smiled kindly. "Maybe after all of this is over, you and Kirk could visit them."

"Oh, yeah... Does Kirk even know about them?"

"He does, but..." Kane hesitated. "Mavis hasn't let him anywhere near them."

Elouise hesitated. "I... I understand..."

"You haven't met Mavis, have you?"

"Nope." Elouise shook her head.

"She's very protective of the people she cares about." Kane groaned. "She's gonna kill me when she finds out how I treated Marius." Elouise chuckled.

"I've really missed Kitty..." sighed Kane. "I haven't seen her in years."

"Yeah..." Elouise hesitated. "You... You said that your father took her with him when he left... To England, no less..."

"I saw her for a couple of hours when she moved back here ten years ago. But since then... Nothing."

"That must suck," Elouise commented sympathetically.

"I don't even know if I'll recognize her," sighed Kane.

"Well, you probably will."

"I'm sure you will," said a female voice. Both of them looked up to see a woman who looked almost exactly like Kane standing on the path in front of them, smiling at Kane.

Kane grinned. "Kitty!" He got up and hugged his sister.

"Oh, Kane!" Kitty gave a giggle. "I was the one who almost didn't recognize YOU. You've changed so much!"

"Ten years is a long time," Kane sighed.

"Indeed it is." Kitty caught sight of Elouise, who had stood up. "And who's this?"

"This is Elouise," Kirk introduced. "She came with me to find you. Kitty... We need your help."

"I heard about Kirk's death from my boss," Kitty said sadly. "I'm sorry, Kane."

Kane hesitated. "That's why we're here. He's not dead like we all thought..."

Kitty's eyes widened. "He isn't?"

"No." Kane shook his head. "He's...with Kegan."

Kitty's expression changed instantly to one of disgust. "Kegan," she spat. "I'd have thought he'd have been locked up long ago."

"He's too slippery for that," Kane said, equally as disgusted.

"I assume Kirk's still in trouble, then?"

"He is." Kane glanced at Elouise. "We were hoping you could help us rescue him from Kegan."

Kitty hesitated. "Well... Kane... I'd love to, but... I'm just so busy here..."

Kane frowned at her. "You're seriously putting work before a family member who desperately needs help?"

"I never said that," Kitty grinned. "I bet I could get a week or two off..."

Kane matched her grin. "That's my sister."

Kitty smiled and glanced back to Elouise. "Why is this something you're worrying about?" It was a question that could be taken with hostility, but her tone wasn't hostile, only curious.

Elouise glanced down at the ground. "Long story short, Kirk and I... Well..."

"Are in love," Kane said.

Elouise blushed. "B-Basically that..."

Kitty raised an eyebrow and grinned. "I see..."

Kane also grinned. "I know, right? Our little bro is all grown up." Elouise's cheeks turned redder, and she glanced at the ground, obviously feeling awkward.

"So what leads do you have to find our dear brothers?" Kitty asked.

"W-We found Kirk in the Danville Forest," Elouise explained. "He said that we shouldn't have been there, so that gives good reason to think Kirk is staying with Kegan somewhere in that forest."

As Kitty thought about that, Kane added, "We do have someone tracking them but we don't know how much he can do."

"So what specifically do you want me to do?"

"Well, I'm not sure if you remember this, but Kegan was always almost fearful of you," Kane replied. "As it stands, you're the only person whom Kegan is most likely to fear. Plus, you're highly skilled AND you're as emotionally invested in this as Elouise and I."

"Well, if you really think I can help..."

"We really do," Kane said pleadingly. "With the three of us plus our tracker, I think we can do it."

Kitty grinned. "Anything for my brothers."

Kane beamed and hugged his sister. "Thank you."

"But do you think we could wait to go back until morning?" Kitty asked with a yawn, glancing up at the night sky.

"Oh. Of course." Kane turned to Elouise. "Want me to escort you back to your house?"

Elouise groaned tiredly. "It'll be practically midnight when we get back... But, sure..."

"Oh, you can stay at my place if you want," Kitty offered. "My boyfriend Deuce and I have separate rooms, and he's out for the weekend, so I can take the couch and you guys can sleep in our rooms."

Kane grinned. "Thanks, Kitty! That'd be great!"

Kitty beamed. "No problem. And I know Deuce won't mind either. You guys'll have to meet him at some point."

"And you'll have to meet my wife and twins."

Kitty's eyes widened. "What on Earth?! You have a family?!"

Elouise chuckled. "I just found that out myself. I guess, for some reason, part of me had assumed you knew."

"We haven't been in contact for ten years," sighed Kitty. "We have a LOT to catch up on."

"No kidding," Kane agreed.

"Anyway, it's late, so you guys can use the bathroom if you want and then go to bed."

"Alright." Elouise yawned and thanked Kitty as she opened the door for them.

Kitty showed them where the bedrooms and bathroom were, then disappeared downstairs to watch television while they got ready for bed.

 _I hope Kirk's doing okay,_ was Elouise's last, worried thought before she went to sleep, once in bed.

Unbeknownst to her, it was also Kane's.


	10. Chapter 10

Kirk scuttled across the hard floor to the window, peering out into the night. He flinched as he heard a harsh voice, yelling at him from behind him. "Kirk! What are you doing?!"

"J-Just looking out the window," Kirk stammered meekly.

"What SHOULD you be doing?!" Kegan demanded harshly.

"T-Technically I should be finished for the day, since you always give me a break from midnight to seven am."

"First time for everything."

Kirk blinked. "Wh-What?" he whimpered, cowering against the wall. "B-But I haven't slept in t-two days!"

"Not my fault," Kegan snarled.

"Yes, it is!" Kirk cried. "You gave me so much to do that I couldn't take a break last night to sleep!"

Kegan slapped his brother in the face to quiet him. "You should work faster, then."

Kirk fell back against the wall, his hand pressed against his cheek. Tears fell silently down his face. "Y-You've been working me like a d-dog! It's n-not fair!"

"It's not fair that I had to have younger siblings in the first place!"

"K-Kane is going to b-beat you up!" Kirk choked. "Wh-When he finds me…!"

Kegan scoffed. "But he never will!"

Kirk turned back towards the window, staring wistfully out at it. A second later, his head was shoved forcefully into the glass, stunning him greatly. He slumped to the floor, his vision growing more and more blurry by the second.

"Stop daydreaming!" Kegan snarled. "I expect you in that room in ten minutes or else!" With that, he stormed away.

When Kirk's vision finally cleared, he ended up just lying on that floor for the next few minutes, crying.

 _Oh, Elouise..._ he lamented. _If only I was with you. You make everything better._

 **POOR PRECIOUS KIRK!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry how long it took to update this, guys. But I'm back now, and, hopefully, I'm gonna finish this series without a long break again xD**

The next morning felt very slow for Elouise. She, Kane, and Kitty left early morning to get back to Danville, but it still seemed to take forever.

On the way, Kane and Kitty swapped stories. They tried to make them as funny as possible in order to distract Elouise, and it worked for a while. Apparently it was a Kennedy thing to be able to tell such funny stories.

 _Maybe Kirk would be good at it, too..._ They hadn't spent enough time together to ever really just hang out and talk. When they had been working on the machine two months ago, they had mostly been quiet.

Elouise made a mental note to ask Kirk out on a proper date when all this was over, so that they could get to know each other better. _Because we WILL get him back,_ she thought firmly.

"Well, here's Danville Forest," said Kitty eventually. "Where's your tracker going to be?"

"I'm not sure," Elouise admitted. "But it won't be too hard to find him."

"How do you know?"

"His dad's my boss, and he's...my brother-in-law," Kane explained, "Hopefully, that's enough."

"What relevance does that have to finding him?" Kitty asked. "Isn't he still in the forest?"

"He might have left by now, right?" Elouise asked hopefully. "In which case, his family might have a clue to where he is."

"He has a twin sister called Meredith," offered Kane. "He catches up with her whenever he can, or so Mavis tells me. Wait..."

He paused in thought. "He's probably visiting Mavis at home. He always visits her when he's had a rough time, so he's probably there right now." He grinned. "If we go there, you can meet my twins."

"That sounds great!" Elouise and Kitty exclaimed in unison.

Kane grinned. "I think they'll like you."

"Let's go!" Elouise said quickly, both eager to meet his children and to find Marius so they could find Kirk.

 **(...)**

Kane knocked on the door of his house. "Where are your keys?" Kitty asked curiously.

Kane looked sheepish. "Uh...they might be...back in my office..."

Kitty shook her head. "Figures."

The door opened, and a dark brown-haired woman was revealed. She smiled warmly upon seeing Kane. "Hi, Kane. Mavis is inside."

"Thanks, Meredith," Kane grinned. "Come on, guys." Elouise and Kitty followed Kane into what appeared to be the living room.

Kane smiled automatically as he saw his wife, Mavis, who was sitting on the sofa with one of the twins on her lap. Since they were identical, Kane only recognized that it was Darcy from the natural dark black streak in her hair. "Daddy!" Darcy exclaimed happily.

Elouise couldn't supress a squeal as the two-year-old girl scrambled off her mother's lap and latched herself onto her father's lower leg. Kane laughed as he lifted up his foot with Darcy still attached to it.

Darcy eyed Elouise and cocked her head curiously. "Who you?"

Elouise smiled kindly. "I'm Elouise."

"She's Daddy's friend," Kane explained.

"Loo-ees!" Darcy proclaimed happily. Elouise giggled and bent down to her knees to reach Darcy's eye level.

As she was doing that, Mavis stood up and made her way over to Kane. "Where on Earth have you been?!" she demanded, flexing her fingers as if she was about to slap Kane. "Last thing I knew, you were going to the office to distract yourself from Kirk, and then you just disappeared! No calls or anything!"

Kane rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Mavis. A lot happened yesterday. I'll fill you in on the details. Okay?"

Mavis nodded reluctantly. "Okay, but first you can make it up to me by finding Kaitlyn. She, Darcy, and I were playing hide and seek, but Kait's hidden herself so well that I can't find her."

Kane chuckled. "Alright, let's go find her."

"OH, no." Mavis sat back down on the sofa. "YOU'RE going to find her. I've been looking ON MY OWN for the past two hours."

"I wasn't talking to you," Kane grinned. "I was talking to Elouise and Kitty. Obviously, one person can't find her on their own."

Mavis raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Kane," she said in an exaggeratedly disappointed voice. "I had no idea that the man I married was so lazy that he couldn't even go looking for his own daughter by himself." There was a hint of a grin on her face.

"Really, Mavis, a lot has happened in the past twenty-four hours. Give me a break," sighed Kane.

Mavis rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. I don't care how you do it; just find Kaitlyn, okay?" She got up off the couch and left the room.

"I saw the love in the air," Kitty teased.

Kane looked up awkwardly and found Meredith standing in the doorway that Mavis had just gone though. Her arms were folded and she was leaning casually against the doorframe, but Kane saw her narrowed eyes and the slight anger in her expression. "Marius told me what happened yesterday," she said coldly.

"I thought as much," Kane sighed. "Is he here?"

"Why? Fancy yelling at him again?"

"No, Meredith. We... We really need his help."

"Oh, THAT's rich," snapped Meredith. She put on a fake masculine voice. "Oh yeah, let's be so mean to Marius and yell at him and lower his self-confidence to the brink of extinction, and THEN we'll ask for his help! There's no WAY he'll be able to refuse!"

"Kane regrets what he did!" Elouise snapped. "There's no need to make him feel worse."

"Hey, you're not part of the family, so you don't get a say in this!" Meredith shot back.

"I'm a friend. Both Kane's and Marius'."

"My point still stands."

Kane sighed. "Meredith, please. If you know where he is, tell us. If you don't want me to talk to him again, then I won't. But my own brother's life is on the line here."

Meredith huffed. "Fine. But only she can talk to him." She pointed at Elouise. "Since she appears to be a 'friend' and won't completely shatter his already fractured self-confidence."

"Thank you," Kane smiled. "Kitty, let's go find Kaitlyn. Elouise... Good luck."

Elouise smiled. "You, too."

"Come on," Meredith sighed. "Marius is this way." Elouise began to follow Kane's sister-in-law.

They went through to a conservatory, where Mavis and Marius were sitting together on one of the sofas. Both of them looked up as Elouise and Meredith came in, neither of their gazes hostile. "Marius?" Elouise asked softly. "C-Can we talk?"

Marius gave a weak smile. "Hey, Elouise. Is Kane here?"

Meredith snorted. "You bet he's here."

"Meredith wouldn't let Kane come," Elouise sighed.

Marius looked at his twin sister in surprise. "Really? Why?"

"Look at you," Meredith snapped. "Who did that to you?"

Marius glanced at his shaking hands in his lap as if seeing them for the first time. Mavis gently put her own hands over her brother's.

"I was trying to forget," Marius said quietly. "But I shouldn't forget. I shouldn't forget what I did."

"We all make mistakes," Elouise replied gently, sitting down. "Some bigger than others. But we're all still people... Not monsters."

"Tell that to the families of the five people whose deaths I'm responsible for."

"Marius, you're not responsible for those deaths or injuries. The people who committed the murders are. I honestly don't think it would have turned out any differently with someone else in your place."

Marius sighed. "But the fact remains that I was the team leader that got those people killed or injured. And the fact that Kane thinks it's just a 'dark spot in my career' to me just makes it so much worse."

"I know good people who have plenty more than just one dark spot in their life, and they're still good people." Kirk came into her mind with that, but… Then again, everything was making her think of him.

"I guess you're right." Marius inhaled deeply. "Anyway, did you want me?"

"We found Kitty. We were hoping... You could help us..."

"Oh!" Marius states at Elouise. "I'm so sorry! Here I've been wallowing in self pity, and I forgot to tell you that I've found where your friend is being kept!"

Elouise's face brightened quite considerably. "Really?! Where?!"

Marius pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Elouise, who unfurled it and found a map of Danville Forest. "He's here." Marius pointed to one spot on the map.

"Where you drew the little stick figure man?"

Marius raised his hands in defense. "Hey, I'm good at tracking, not drawing. But, yeah. He's there."

Elouise stared down at the tiny stick figure. Could it be possible? Was that really where Kirk was? "A-Are you sure?" she asked quietly, suddenly not feeling sure of anything. Only a couple of days before, she had thought Kirk was dead. And now...

Marius nodded. "I spotted the man we saw the other day in that location. He went into a small-ish cabin."

"A-A-Alright," Elouise nodded shakily.

"You should tell Kane and then get going," Marius advised. "Good luck."

Elouise nodded again. "Thank you so much, Marius."

 **Yay! Marius found Kirk!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Short chapter this time xD**

When Elouise got back to the living room, she saw Kane lying on the floor, playing with not one but two toddler girls, who were play attacking him. "Glad you found her," Elouise grinned, laughing.

The girl without the streak in her hair- Kaitlyn- raced at Elouise and latched onto her shin, giggling madly. "Kaitlyn, gentle," Kane admonished.

Kaitlyn gazed up at Elouise, giggling. Elouise gently unattached the little girl and picked her up. "You're as cute as your sister," she grinned.

"You Loo-ees!" Kaitlyn proclaimed, waving her hand in Elouise's face.

Elouise laughed. "Yeah, I am!"

Then Darcy left her father's side and toddled over too, but less enthusiastically and more curiously. Elouise chuckled and waved. "Where's Kitty?" she asked Kane curiously.

"She went outside to take a call. From the lovey-dovey tone, I'm guessing it's that elusive Deuce."

"I assume you want to meet him sometime soon?"

"Of course," chuckled Kane. "A brother has every right to at least meet the guy his sister's dating. So what did Marius say?"

"He found where Kirk and Kegan are," Elouise replied excitedly.

Kane's eyes widened. "He did? Then let's go!"

"You...should probably talk to Mavis first," Elouise grinned.

Kane groaned. "Yeah... That's going to be fun."

Elouise laughed. "You go do that. I'll watch the girls for you."

 **(...)**

Kane poked his head around the conservatory door and had an extremely awkward moment of eye contact with Marius, before the latter looked away. Mavis looked over at him. "Hey."

Kane gave a smile. "I was just coming to tell you that Elouise, Kitty, and I are heading out again."

Mavis' eyes narrowed. "Already?"

Kane sighed. "I'm sorry, Mavie. In any other circumstances, you and the girls would be first priority. But it's just... Kirk... He's my brother, and I thought he was dead... But now I know he isn't, so I-I just want to rescue him from Kegan as soon as possible."

"I..." Mavis inhaled deeply. "I understand."

"I promise when all this is over, we'll have a family day," Kane promised. "The day after that, I'll take the kids for the whole day while you go to the spa to relax. You deserve it, Mavie."

Mavis chuckled. "Alright. Stay safe."

Kane went over to her and kissed her briefly. "I will. Good luck with the twins."

"Thanks," Mavis sighed. Kane grinned and kissed her forehead before heading back to Elouise.

Meredith followed him and gathered up the twins. "Good luck," she said shortly, before disappearing back to the conservatory.

Kane turned to Elouise. "Ready?"

Elouise nodded. "Born ready."

"Great." Kane grinned.

As they stepped outside, they saw Kitty standing on the lawn, on her phone. She caught sight of them and hurriedly said, "Gotta go. Love you, bye," and hung up.

"Ready to get our brother, Kitty?" Kane grinned.

Kitty matched his grin. "Oh yes."

"Let's go."


	13. Chapter 13

Kirk felt his head pounding as he tried to concentrate on the machine he was building. As well as the lump on his forehead and the red mark on his cheek, he now had a bruise on his shoulder.

"What's taking so long?" Kegan demanded.

Kirk flinched. He hadn't heard his older brother enter the room. "Th-this is a very complicated step..."

"Excuses, excuses."

Kirk squeezed his eyes shut to try and prevent himself from crying. Crying only made Kegan hurt him more. "I-I'm not making excuses..."

"Right..." Kegan replied disbelievingly.

"P-Please believe me," whimpered Kirk. "This is more complicated than a-anything I've ever d-done."

Kegan sighed and shook his head. Kirk sealed his lips, afraid to say any more in case Kegan punished him. "Keep working," Kegan finally said coldly.

Kirk picked up the wrench that he had dropped out of fright when Kegan had come in. He reached upwards to fasten a bolt, but accidentally dropped the wrench, which made a loud clanging noise on the floor. He winced. "S-Sorry..."

Kegan growled but left the room. Kirk breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the metal thing again. _Please, Kane, hurry up..._

 **(...)**

"Well, this is it." Kane sighed, looking up at the massive canopy of trees in front of them. "Danville Forest." Elouise shivered.

"We ready?" Kane asked.

"Y-Yeah." Elouise nodded.

Kitty grinned. "Sure am, big bro."

"Alright... Then let's go." Kane set off. After a moment's hesitation, the girls followed him.

"So what's the plan when we find them?" Elouise asked quietly.

Kitty pounded her fist in her palm. "Kick Kegan up."

"Any more detail...?"

"Kick Kegan up with extreme prejudice and a lot of force."

Elouise sighed and shook her head. "Could I leave that part to the two of you?"

"Sure." Kitty grinned. "You rescue Kirk, and I'll beat up Kegan."

"I think you're forgetting someone," Kane said pointedly.

"Oh, yeah, and Kane can keep a lookout." Kitty smirked. "That's what you do best."

Kane shot his little sister a glare. Kitty beamed innocently. "C'mon, bro. Let your little sis have first crack at beating up our big bro."

Kane sighed. "Fine. Despite the wording, I actually do like that plan."

Kitty punched Kane lightly on the shoulder. "Looks like you haven't forgotten that I'm the fiercest fighter."

Elouise chuckled as she watched the siblings interact. Though she was smiling on the outside, on the inside, she couldn't help wishing that David had been this kind of sibling, instead of the controlling and bullying kind.

"You okay?" Kitty asked. "You seen preoccupied."

Elouise nodded. "Yeah. Just wishing that my brother and I... Nevermind."

"Alright..."

"Is it just me, or is it getting cold in here?" Kane asked, shivering.

Elouise rubbed her arms. "It is getting later in the day..."

"Yeah, but it's summer," argued Kane. "It shouldn't be this chilly at this time of day and year."

"Good point..."

Kitty looked worried. "What if this is Kegan's fault?"

Elouise inhaled. "Good thing we're going to stop him."

"Is Kegan an engineer?" Kitty asked.

Kane made a face. "Not strictly speaking. He's more of a robotics engineer than anything else. He can't build machines on his own; all he can do is-." He broke off suddenly as a realization hit him.

"Kane?" Elouise asked worriedly.

Kane let out a low growl. "Kegan. He can't build machines on his own. What if he wants to build a machine? What would he do?"

"H-H-He's using Kirk...?" Elouise gulped.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking." Kane looked absolutely murderous. "Kitty, I think it might be a race between us to get to Kegan first."

"Duly noted."

"Do you have the map, Elouise?" Kane asked. "Let's see if we're going the right way."

Elouise grinned. "Yeah. Please, look at it. I'm not sure how good my map-reading skills are."

Kane grinned back and took the map from her. "Ah... We're not going the RIGHT way, but at least we're not going in the opposite direction. We need to go perpendicularly right from here."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," sighed Elouise, still smiling.

The group turned right immediately, and for a while, Kane led the group while looking at the map. Kitty hung back to chat to Elouise. "So what's your story?" she asked. "

"W-What do you mean?"

"What do you do?"

"Oh." Elouise smiled. "I'm a doctor. I work at the small, local hospital."

"Oh, nice!" Kitty smiled. "So where'd you meet Kirk?"

"Well... I-I have a twin brother..." Elouise began. "H-He... Well..." _Does she know about L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N?_ she worried immediately.

Kitty raised her eyebrows. "He what?"

"He forced me to join something," Elouise said finally. "Something I didn't want to join. Something Kirk was also a part of."

"Ah." Kitty hummed in thought. "An evil organization?"

Elouise blinked and relaxed. "So you DO know about it?"

"Not specifically which one, but there are a few out there. Archangel, L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N, F.P.H."

"Okay. Well, the one I'm talking about is L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N."

Kitty sighed. "L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. is more O.W.C.A's problem than Empire's."

"Lucky," Kane muttered.

"Well, Empire has its own problems," retorted Kitty. "At least everything that happens that YOU have to investigate is part of a single organization. We have fourteen crime syndicates, six partnerships, at least twenty individuals, and an organisation that commit crimes on a regular basis and that we have to investigate. As soon as you look at one of your incidents, you think 'Ah, it's L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N'. It can take us days of forensic analysis just to determine who we're dealing with."

"Fair enough..."

"Luckily, I have a great forensics partner," Kitty said, beaming.

"Who?" Elouise cocked her head.

Kitty blushed. "D-Deuce Lotus."

"Not surprised," Kane grinned.

Kitty reached out and flicked him. "Reserve judgement until you meet him, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm trying to."

"Oh, and you'll want to meet Angel Ataro," Kitty added. "She's my actual partner in Empire; she's really sweet."

"We'll have to go there after we get Kirk," Kane agreed.

Kitty smiled wistfully. "Yeah."

"So, Kitty, what was your life like?" Elouise asked curiously.

"My life right now?"

"If you want to tell me that, yeah."

"Well, I work for Empire," Kitty began. "Have you heard of it?"

"Not really," Elouise admitted.

"It's sort of like O.W.C.A. but it's originally an English organization. It has branches on every continent and in almost half of the world's countries. I trained in the English branch but I was transferred to the American branch when I was fifteen."

"Cool!" Elouise paused. "Sounds a lot more powerful than O.W.C.A..."

"Well, some of us at Empire are jealous of O.W.C.A. because they have a lot more freedom," admitted Kitty. "They have limited jurisdiction, but they have the freedom to make tough calls out in the field. Our director hates it if we deviate from a plan."

"I see..."

"Which is quite frustrating," sighed Kitty. "Since I'm more spontaneous than structured."

"At least Empire has more of a budget than us," Kane pointed out.

Kitty grinned. "Trust me, I'd take freedom over a big budget anyday."

Kane chuckled. "You say that now..."

Kitty chuckled back, before sighing and glancing down at the ground. "Hey... You okay?" Kitty didn't respond. "Kitty...?"

Kitty shook herself suddenly. "Let's go." She quickly walked ahead of the other two, leaving Elouise and Kane to shoot a concerned look at the other.

 _What was that about?_ Elouise mouthed. Kane just shrugged.

"Are you lot coming?" Kitty called over her shoulder.

"Yeah...!"

"Then come on." Elouise and Kane ran to catch up to Kitty.

"I think we're almost here," Kane said, looking down at the map.

"So what's the worst Kegan can do to us?" inquired Elouise nervously.

"Well..." Kane paused. "He has an army of robots..."

"And it's seriously just the three of us?"

"We could have asked the Monograms to help us," pointed out Kane.

"Then why didn't you do that?" Elouise grinned and playfully swatted his arm.

Kane grinned back and stepped out of her reach. "I don't know. They probably wouldn't have helped anyway."

Kitty sighed. "Elouise, do you have any fighting experience?"

"Um... I've held a gun before..."

"I guess that's a start," Kitty said thoughtfully. She reached into her belt holster and pulled out a gun, which she tossed to Elouise. "You'll need this to defend yourself, then."

"Will it work on robots?" Elouise asked worriedly.

"As long as they don't have any kind of force fields, yeah," Kitty replied, glancing at Kane.

"As far as I know, only one of the robots has any force field, and that's the one I trashed last time I bumped into Kegan," Kane said.

"Then it should be fine."

Kitty gave Elouise a reassuring smile. "Hopefully you'll see the bare minimum of combat. We're doing all the fighting while you get Kirk out."

Elouise exhaled and nodded. "You won't have to face Kegan, so long as everything goes to plan," Kane said from the front. "So you wont have to worry about that."

"Got it." Elouise hesitated. "And what if something goes wrong?"

"Define "goes wrong"," sighed Kitty.

"Just... In general... I guess..."

"Then we just get Kirk and leave."

Elouise nodded. "O-Okay. I g-got it."

"Guys..." Kitty stopped dead. "We're here."

 **Dun, dun, DUN!**


	14. Chapter 14

Elouise gulped and looked up, mostly scared of what she would see. It was a cabin made of metal, just larger than Elouise's house. It looked dark and foreboding. The redhead inhaled shakily and readied her gun, just to be safe.

"Oh..." sighed Kane. "This is going to be fun."

"And how do we get in...?"

"Not through the front door, that's for certain," Kane groaned. "Is there a window?"

Kitty did a quick look around the cabin. "On the back," she whispered. "Do you have a rock?"

Kane looked confusedly at her. "Uh, there are probably some on the ground. Why?"

"To break the window," Kitty replied, as if it was completely obvious.

Kane rolled his eyes. "That's the opposite of a stealthy entry."

"Well, EXCUSE ME if we can't figure out another way to get in!"

"It'll be no use if we get spotted the second we get in there because of a smashed window!" Kane snapped.

"What else do you suggest?" Kitty sounded exasperated.

"Something quieter!"

"Like what?" challenged Kitty.

Kane scowled. "Like a distraction!"

"That's quieter?"

"It's stealthier."

"Well, what kind of distraction?" Elouise asked nervously.

"One involving Kitty," Kane replied, smirking. "That's what she does best."

Kitty glared. "Was that payback for the lookout remark I made earlier?"

"Maybe."

Kitty sighed. "Well, you're right. We need something big." She handed another gun to Kane. "Do you think you could make one with this, while us girls go in?"

Kane sighed. "Sure."

"Great!"

"I thought YOU were the distraction queen?"

"I thought I was the one who would get to fight," Kitty retorted, crossing her arms.

Kane rolled his eyes. "You're a real pain, you know that?"

Kitty shrugged. "I've known THAT for a while now," she grinned.

Kane chuckled. "I've really missed you, Kit."

"You, too, bro."

Kane went round to the corner of the building. He glanced back at Kitty and readied his gun, his mischievous grin only just betraying his fear. "Good luck, guys."

"You, too," Elouise smiled weakly, steadying herself with deep breaths. Kane paused for a moment longer, before charging out into the open. The two girls heard the sound of a gun firing, then laser gun fire.

Kitty held her arm out in front of Elouise. "Wait a minute," she whispered.

"What?" Elousie whispered back nervously.

"We need to let Kane get a little further away before we go in."

"Oh, r-right."

A couple moments later, Elouise quietly followed Kitty in the cabin. "You look for Kirk, I'll look for Kegan," whispered Kitty.

Elouise nodded. "Be careful."

Kitty smiled. "Thanks. You too." With that, they split up.

The building looked bigger on the inside than it had on the outside. Elouise exhaled and gripped her gun tightly as she walked down the halls, prepared for any robots that jumped out at her. However, the only robot she saw seemed to be deactivated.

"K-Kirk?" she called quietly. She got no answer, so she carried on for a minute or so and then called his name again. This time, she thought she heard a man's voice call back.

"Kirk?" Elouise began to run to where she heard the voice.

This time, she definitely heard a male voice calling her name. "Elouise!"

Just then, she rounded a corner...and saw him. "Kirk!" Elouise ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

Kirk held onto her tightly, burying his face in her hair. He couldn't believe she was here. After two months of watching her from a distance, he wouldn't believe that he was actually holding her in his arms.

Elouise obviously felt the same. "I-I thought I'd never see you again! I t-thought you were dead!" Her voice cracked. "I-I-I... I..." She simply fell silent, realizing she couldn't seem to form words, and rested against Kirk.

Neither of them wanted to move from this position. Unfortunately, though, Elouise remembered everything that was going on. "W-we need to go. Now!"

Kirk stepped back, alarmed. "W-Wait... Who else is here? Kane?"

Elouise nodded. "Kane's outside, and- and Kitty's here, too."

Kirk frowned, confused. "Kitty? Who's Kitty?"

"You... You don't know her... That makes sense..." Elouise shook her head to clear it. "I'll explain later. Right now, we need to go."

Kirk nodded. "Lead the way."

 **Aw! They're reunited now! :D Yay!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, guys, a lot happens in this chapter xD Get ready xD xD**

Elouise inhaled and began to go back the way she had come- tightly gripping Kirk's hand the whole time. She wasn't about to lose him again.

When they got to a large hall, they saw Kitty fighting a man who looked like Kane and Kirk. _Kegan_ , realized Elouise.

Kirk inhaled sharply and gripped Elouise's hand even tighter. Elouise pulled Kirk behind her to protect him. She then pulled out the gun again, in case they couldn't creep by the two dueling siblings.

"Is that Kitty?" Kirk whispered. "She sort of looks like Kane, in some weird way."

Elouise couldn't help but chuckle softly. "There's a reason for that."

Kirk was about to ask what that reason was, but he was interrupted by Kegan slamming Kitty into the hard wall and throwing her across the room. She landed on her back with a cry.

"Kitty!" Elouise gasped. Quickly, she tried to shoot Kegan with the gun... Only to miss by less than an inch.

Kegan whirled round and spotted his prisoner. "You!"

"Y-Y-You're a monster," Elouise said shakily, pointing the gun at Kegan. "T-These are your own siblings you're hurting."

Kirk stared at Elouise in shock. "Uh... Siblings? Plural?"

Kegan let out a laugh. "You don't even know that Kitty is your older sister. I guess that figures, since you were only four months old when she left."

"WHAT?!" Kirk gasped.

Elouise glanced at him sympathetically.

"Yes, that's right," sneered Kegan. "Kitty's your sister, and she left you. She abandoned you."

"I was four!" Kitty croaked from the ground. "Wh-When Dad left, he took me with him."

"W-Why didn't anyone ever tell me...?!"

Elouise put her hand on Kirk's shoulder, but he angrily pulled away. "Kane never told me we had a sister!" he snapped.

"Probably because he thought you'd never see her again," Elouise explained gently.

Kirk angrily clenched his fists. "I-I-I can't believe he...! He never said...! HE NEVER SAID...!"

Kegan was smiling sympathetically. "Oh, Kirk. Always so trusting. That's why it hurts so much when you get betrayed by your own brother."

"Kirk, no one betrayed you," Elouise said firmly. "No one except your father and Kegan."

"I certainly didn't betray you, Kirk," Kegan said, sounding hurt. "Yes, I haven't been treating you as well as I could and should have, but I'm not the enemy here. Kane's the one who's been visiting his sister without even telling you that you HAVE a sister. Kane's the one who left you in an organisation you hated without once calling to check on you."

"You're the one who's been abusing him!" snapped Elouise.

"I've just admitted that I haven't been treating him as well as I should have been," Kegan replied smoothly. "Come on, Kirk. You know your place is with me, making machines, instead of in an O.W.C.A. prison."

"Wh-What?" Kitty gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, didn't Kane say?" Kegan smiled maddeningly. "If Kirk goes to O.W.C.A, the rules state that Kane has to lock him up in prison. See, the O.W.C.A. handbook says that if any member of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N, whether current or former, sets foot on O.W.C.A. property, then they must be locked up indefinitely."

"Rules can be broken!" Elouise snapped. "I will NOT lose him again!"

"Unfortunately, you have no choice." Kegan smirked. "I saved his life. That means he's indebted to me. And I command him to stay here with me."

"You can't command him to do ANYTHING!"

"He can," Kirk whispered. "He saved my life in return for anything he asked. He..." He swallowed. "He CAN command me to do whatever he likes."

"Kirk..." Elouise murmured. "You've put up with two months of this. It's plenty enough."

Kegan simply held his hand out. "Come, Kirk. You know you can't leave me."

Kirk hesitantly began walking towards his older brother, to Kitty's anguish. "No!" she gasped out, clutching her chest. "Kirk, don't!"

"Kirk, NO!" Elouise screamed, grabbing for his hand.

Kirk wrenched it away before she could touch him, which felt like a stab wound to the heart. "Elouise..." Kirk turned to face her. "I love you, and every instinct in my body is telling me to come with you, but I-I just can't. Kegan is right. I can't leave him without his permission."

"K-K-Kirk, no. You are NOT leaving me again!" Tears dripped down Elouise's cheeks, and she couldn't think straight all of the sudden.

Kirk looked sadly back at her, but he continued walking. He reached Kegan, who patted his shoulder. "There we go. Isn't that better?"

"Shut up," growled Kirk, closing his eyes. "Just shut up before I hurt you."

Elouise stared down at the gun in her hands, despite her vision being blinded with tears. She then looked back up at Kegan and Kirk.

"Hey!" Kitty snapped, struggling to her feet. "Kegan, I challenge you to a duel! Winner keeps Kirk, loser dies."

"K-K-Kitty, n-n-n-no," Elouise said shakily.

Kegan ignored her and focused on Kitty, an evil glint in his eye. "Interesting..."

"Kitty, NO!" Elouise shouted this time. "You're gambling with your life!"

"No, I'm gambling with Kirk's life!" snapped Kitty. "He never knew me. I'm going to kick Kane's butt for that, but... Kegan's right. I left Kirk. And whether that was my fault or not, this is the one thing I can do for him."

"What about Kane?" Elouise snapped. "What if you lose? Do you think he'd be able to handle losing two of his siblings in one day?"

"He won't lose anyone," Kitty said firmly. "I'm ready for this."

Elouise didn't reply. Kitty surprised Elouise by hugging her. "It's okay. I won't fail you OR Kirk."

"You better not."

Kitty grinned weakly.

"I'd just like to change the rules a bit," Kegan piped up. "If you kill me, you get Kirk. If I kill you, the girl gets Kirk." He pointed at Elouise. "So you have to choose between killing me or getting killed."

Kitty hesitated. She had never killed anyone in her life, and while Kegan was an awful human being, he was still a human being, not to mention her brother.

Elouise inhaled sharply, whispered a "Good luck" to Kitty, and slipped her the gun for just in case.

"Ah, bap!" Kegan waggled his finger. "No guns. Too easy." He took a knife off his belt and threw it to Kitty, who caught it while only just managing to avoid getting cut on the hand by the blade. "Use this if you must."

Kitty inhaled deeply. She had never liked knives. With guns, she could hit someone from a long distance and not have to look them in the eye. Knives were too personal; she felt more responsible if she hurt someone with one of these.

But before she could get accustomed to using the knife, Kegan attacked. Kitty shrieked and immediately defended herself.

Elouise grimaced and looked away, before walking around the room to Kirk. He had a horrified expression on his face. "Kitty shouldn't be forced to choose," he said quietly. "Killing or being killed. Either he kills one of his enemies, or he forces his enemy to inflict mental suffering on herself by killing him. Either way, Kegan wins."

"I can't watch this." Tears in her eyes, Elouise looked away.

A slight smirk came onto Kirk's face. "I can give you the running commentary, if you'd like."

"I-I don't know..."

Kirk flinched. "Ah..."

"W-What?"

"K-Kitty's not doing so well..."

Elouise burst into tears, and Kirk gently wrapped his arms around her. Both of them flinched as they heard a cracking sound and a female scream of pain. Elouise turned and buried her head against Kirk's chest.

Kitty moaned in pain as she clutched her broken shin. Lying on the ground, she knew she was open to attack, but she couldn't stand up. She kept her eyes open and, when she saw Kegan's feet stop in front of her, she whipped out her knife and sank it into Kegan's leg.

Every time Elouise heard a yell of pain, she just moaned. Even though she was a doctor, this was just...horrible.

As Kegan pulled the knife out of his shin and threw it on the ground, he turned towards Kirk and Elouise. Grinning maniacally, he lunged for them and grabbed Elouise's arm. Before she could even scream, Kitty threw her knife at him and buried it in his back. He fell without a sound, his grip on Elouise's wrist slackening.

Kitty's face paled. "I-I..."

Kirk could only stare at the body of his brother. "You really did it," he whispered.

Kitty gasped. "I... I... I..."

Elouise rushed forward and hugged the girl gently. Kitty burst into tears and clutched the material of Elouise's shirt like her life depended on it. "I couldn't... He was... He made me... I had to..."

Elouise gently rocked her. "It's okay," she soothed.

"He didn't care if he lived or died," Kirk snapped bitterly. "All he wanted was to break Kitty."

Elouise shook her head. "A-And I thought David was an awful brother..."

At that moment, the door burst open and Kane ran in. He stopped dead as he saw the scene in front of him. "What on Earth happened?!"

Kirk inhaled deeply. "V-Very long story."

Kane stared down at the body on the floor. "Is Kegan...?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Who...?"

Kitty sobbed more, and Kirk slowly and sadly glanced over at her. This gave Kane all the answers he needed. "Oh, Kitty..." he whispered, putting his own arms around her.

"I-I-I h-h-had to... O-or E-E-Elouise..."

"Shh, don't speak," Kane urged. "Let's take you back to O.W.C.A."

"Your leg needs to be looked at," Kirk added. "Not to mention your injuries from earlier."

"Do you know if Kegan had any medical supplies here, Kirk?" Elouise asked, turning to him. "If so, then I should be able to help her enough to make the journey back easier."

"Kegan?" Kirk scoffed. "He's practically invincible. He doesn't need medical supplies."

"I'm fine," Kitty choked out. "I can make it."

Elouise hesitated. "If you're sure..." She turned to Kirk again. Now that she was finally able to see clearly, she could tell that he wasn't in a much better state than his sister. "And she's not the only one who'll be looked at when we get back."

Kirk shook his head, but Elouise used her hand to trace Kirk's cheek, where there was a large bruise. "I'm fine," he argued.

"We can see your ribs," Kane said, poking Kirk in the chest.

Kirk sighed. "You won't give up, will you?"

"Nope," said Elouise and Kane at the same time.

"Okay, fine."


	16. Chapter 16

With Kitty's arm slung over Elouise's shoulder and Kane supporting Kirk, they all managed to make it back to O.W.C.A.

Kirk froze right outside the headquarters. Kane looked over at him. "Kirk?

"Kegan told me one of the rules here," Kirk said quietly.

"Rules?" repeated Kane, frowning.

"H-He said that any L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. scientist, former or not, that sets foot on O.W.C.A. property is thrown into jail."

Kane hesitated. "Firstly, I'm worried that Kegan even knew that. Secondly, it's not strictly true. Any current or former L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. scientist who either needs medical attention or is with a high ranking officer will not be arrested. And you qualify for both."

Kirk relaxed. "O-Okay."

"Let's get them to Katrina and Apollo, okay?" Kane said.

Elouise nodded. "Yeah."

Katrina gasped as they came in. "What on earth happened?!"

"We found Kirk," Kane said, rather unnecessarily. "But Kitty needs medical help. And..." He lowered his voice slightly. "She'll need Artemis too."

Apollo nodded. "On it."

He and Katrina helped Kitty onto a bed, while Kane and Elouise put Kirk on another bed. "I'm going to go update Major Monogram on the situation," he said, leaving the room.

Katrina took one look at Kitty before sympathetically saying, "Darling, you look awful."

"I feel awful," Kitty admitted. "I-I did something horrible..."

"No need to explain, sweetheart."

Kitty lay back and closed her eyes. "I'm a monster..."

"No, you're not," Elouise reassured. "Kegan was the monster. Not you." Kitty didn't reply.

Elouise turned back to Kirk. "H-How much of this did K-Kegan cause...?"

Kirk attempted a smirk but failed miserably. "Gotta remember that I did fall a hundred feet." At Elouise's continued worried stare, he sighed and added, "Most of it."

Elouise sighed and shook her head. "Honestly... I hate saying this, but it sounds like the world will be so much better without Kegan." She blushed as she added, "Or, at least...my world..."

Kirk smiled briefly. "I appreciate it, but you may not want to say that in front of... Uh..." He gestured to Kitty, who was curled up, facing away from them, on the bed next to him.

"Y-Yeah..."

Kirk smiled. "So, Doctor Elouise...are you going to treat me?"

Elouise chuckled. "Of course. And you know there's no need to be SO formal."

"I was method acting. So what do I need to do?"

The redhead blushed a bright red as it occurred to her. "I... Um..." She cleared her throat, and her sentence quietly turned into a mumble. "I need you to take your shirt off."

Kirk blinked. "Th-That was quite quiet, but... Did you say I need to take my shirt off?"

Elouise's blush deepened, and she rubbed the back of her neck. "Y-Y-Y-Yeah..."

Kirk again attempted and failed at a smirk. "Anything for the lady, especially the doctor lady." With that, he began pulling off his shirt.

Elouise sat down next to him on the bed and began examining his back. Quickly, she found something. It almost seemed like a scar- diagonally stretching across his back. Elouise gently traced her fingers over it. "K-Kirk... What's this?"

Kirk tried to play innocent. "What's what?"

"Kirk, I know a scar when I see one," Elouise said firmly. "What happened?"

Kirk hesitated. Finally, he said, "It... It was when I fell from the helicopter. My whole back was bloody and covered in hundreds of scratches from the branches... That's the only one that stuck around."

Elouise breathed out slightly. She knew it was still a horrible injury, but most of her had been terrified that Kegan had inflicted it on him. "So... Did Kegan really save your life? Is that how you survived the fall?"

"Mostly, yeah," Kirk sighed. "And I hate admitting it, but... Yeah. I survived the actual impact, but if I didn't get help soon, I was going to die. With my condition, not to mention the fact I was stuck in the middle of the forest... I only managed to move a few yards before Kegan found me."

Elouise sucked in air. "Did you recognize him?"

"All too well," muttered Kirk. "But it was a choice between him or dying a painful, slow death." He paused and grinned weakly. "So it was a tough contest."

Elouise laughed softly and continued to examine him. Kirk let out a wince as she found a large red welt down the side of his chest. "Ah... Y-You've found that, have you?"

"It... It's hard to miss..."

Kirk winced. "I think it might need a bandage or something. I don't know; I'm not the expert."

Elouise got up and called to Katrina across the room, asking where the different supplies were. Katrina replied, and Elouise quickly got what she needed before sitting back down again. "H-How did you get this?"

Kirk hesitated again. "Kegan," he sighed finally. "For a while, he had a phase where his favourite toy was a whip..."

Elouise inhaled sharply. "I-I-I s-s-see..."

Kirk sighed. "Yeah..."

Elouise gently began applying a salve to the wound. Kirk winced in pain. "Agh..."

"I know it must hurt," Elouise soothed.

"Don't tell Kane," pleaded Kirk. "Not about the scars."

Elouise inhaled deeply. "Well..."

"Well what?"

"If... If you really don't want me to..."

Kirk sighed again. "I'm sorry, Elouise. It's just that... I don't want him to see me as weaker than he already does."

"How do you know he sees you that way?" Elouise asked gently.

"Because I've always been the weaker brother compared to him," Kirk said bitterly. "Especially compared to BOTH my older brothers..."

Elouise gently wrapped her arms around him, being careful not to touch any of the wounds she could now see. "Kirk," she murmured, "he CARES for you. He will want to know..."

Kirk happened to glance up and scowled. "Well it's too late now."

Elouise followed his gaze and saw Kane standing in the doorway. Kane smiled. "Hey." Kitty had fallen asleep, so he was obviously talking to Kirk.

Kirk flushed. This was the first time he had properly seen his brother in years, not counting the journey here. "H-Hi, Kane..."

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Elouise blushed and quickly- yet gently- backed away from Kirk. "N-N-No. I-I-it's fine."

Kane grinned. "It's okay. I know you two are in love. I just want to know if you've asked her out properly yet, Kirk."

Now it was Kirk's turn to blush. "K-K-Kane!"

Kane burst out laughing and held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay. I'll move past that topic and go straight to 'How did you survive?'"

Kirk grimaced. "I'm not sure that's better, frankly."

"He survived the impact, but he wouldn't have lived much longer if Kegan hadn't found him..." Elouise began softly.

Kane made a face. "So Kegan saved your life? Is that why you stayed with him for so long?"

Kirk glanced at the ground. "I didn't have much of a choice; I was basically forced... That's why he's... Well..."

"He's what?"

Kirk looked over at Kitty, who was still asleep on the bed. "D-Dead," he said quietly. "If he hadn't died, I don't think I'd be here."

"Kitty was brave," Kane said, placing his hand on Kirk's shoulder. "And so were you."

Kirk sighed. "Kane... Why didn't you ever tell me about Kitty?"

Kane retracted his hand as if he had been stung. "I...I, uh..."

"I had a reason to know, Kane!" Elouise gently placed a hand on Kirk's shoulder and gestured to Kitty with a nod of her head, and Kirk quieted again.

Kane sighed. "I'm sorry, Kirk. I should have told you at some point, but I... I was scared of what you were becoming."

"What I was becoming?" repeated Kirk, confused.

"I didn't tell you when we were kids because we were too busy trying to defend ourselves from Kegan's bullying. When you joined L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N... I don't know... I was scared that if I told you then, you'd take your anger out on me or her or both. I-It wasn't fair of me to think of you as a monster, but... I was scared. I'm sorry..."

Kirk stared at the ground. "I-I-I..." He inhaled. "I-I understand."

Kane paused for a moment, before awkwardly reaching out and putting his arms around his younger brother. "I'm sorry, Kirk," he said again. "I really am."

Kirk nodded. "I can see that. And, honestly," he continued, "I might HAVE become a monster if I hadn't met Elouise."

Elouise smiled shyly and took Kirk's hand. "Then isn't it lucky I got to you in time?" she beamed.

Kane grinned as Kirk blushed. "Y-Yeah. I-I guess so."

"I'll give you guys some privacy," grinned Kane. "Notify me when Kitty wakes up."

"Okay," Elouise nodded. Kane gave his brother one last smile and then he left the room.

Elouise got up from behind Kirk and quietly began examining his chest. "If all you wanted to do was touch my chest, you could have asked," grinned Kirk, but even Elouise could tell he found it awkward to say that.

"I-I'm doing my job," Elouise retorted, feeling a red flush return to her cheeks.

Kirk sighed. "I know. Just ignore me; I'm awful at flirting." Elouise laughed.

"Get a room," mumbled Kitty's sleepy voice.

Both of them blushed a bright red. "O-Oh, K-K-Kitty... You're awake...!"

"Mmm." Kitty straightened out on the bed, then she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up on her cast-wrapped leg. "I'm going out," she said.

"Kitty, wait," Elouise said quickly, standing up. "I think you need to stay here a bit longer."

Kitty gave Elouise such a glare that the latter backed away a few steps. "Kitty?"

"I said I'm going out," Kitty repeated emotionlessly, hobbling to the door and out of sight.

"K-Kitty!" Elouise called desperately.

Kirk got her attention and shook his head. "Give her some time." He exhaled deeply. "I don't know her very well, but the trauma of killing someone is not going to leave her for a long time, that much I know."

Elouise sighed and stared at the ground. "I guess you're right. I-I'm going to go tell Kane she's awake. W-Will you be okay in here by yourself?"

Kirk nodded and smiled bravely. "I'll be fine."

"Okay." With that, Elouise left the room.

Kirk smiled and lay back in the bed, closing his eyes. He really did love her. So why couldn't he work up the nerve to ask her out? He even knew she felt the same!

Something inside him was saying that just dating was too... Well...lame. Considering what they had been through, what they had survived together, something about mere dating seemed too insignificant.

 _But we need to get to know each other more,_ he reminded himself. He sighed again. _If you want to get to know her, then you have to man up and ask her out._

Just then, Elouise came back in the room. "Kane said he'll give her a bit of time before going to talk with her," she smiled.

Kirk didn't hear her. "Kirk?"

Elouise reached out and touched Kirk's shoulder, causing him to jump. "E-Elouise! When did you come back?"

She giggled. "A few minutes ago. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just...thinking."

Elouise cocked her head. "What about?"

Kirk quickly shook his head. "N-Nothing."

Elouise crossed her arms in disbelief, but she still replied with, "Alright..."

Kirk smiled. "There's the tough and cynical girl I fell in love with."

Elouise raised an eyebrow and grinned but said nothing.

"If I may ask, what is it about me that made you fall in love with me?" Kirk asked.

Elouise blushed. "W-W-Well, I..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not quite sure," she admitted.

Kirk smirked. "Thanks so much, Elouise," he teased.

"Don't make me feel bad," she grinned back, playfully swatting his arm.

"I wouldn't dream of it," grinned Kirk.

Elouise rolled her eyes. "Sure..."

Kirk's smile faded and he inhaled deeply. _Do it now, idiot. If you don't do it now, you'll never do it._ "E-Elouise, w-would you like to g-go on a proper d-date w-with m-m-me...?"

Elouise grinned. "Of course!" she beamed.

Kirk sighed. "O-Oh well, I understand you'd rather... W-Wait...!"

She laughed. "Yes."

Kirk stared at her as she giggled, waiting for the penny to drop. "Y-You said yes...?!"

Elouise nodded. "Did you really think I'd say no?"

Kirk looked down at the ground. "Uh... Kinda..." Elouise grinned and shook her head.

"S-Sorry...?"

She laughed and sat next to him on the bed. "You're hilarious when you're tongue-tied and confused."

"Hilarious...and cute?" Kirk asked hopefully.

Elouise blushed. "Yeah."

"You're also cute," grinned Kirk. "Beautiful, even."

"T-T-Thanks," Elouise smiled shyly, blushing down at the ground.

Kirk smirked. "Okay, we have to learn how to take compliments. We can't keep blushing every time one compliments the other."

Elouise giggled. "We've got enough time."

"Yes, yes, we do."

 **Yay! Happy ending!**

 **Or is it…? I:} I:}**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hee, hee, one more chapter xD Come on, guys, you should know how common epilogues are in the stories I post ;) xD xD**

 **Also, remember how earlier on in chapter four I said that I wrote most of the chapter as an extra scene, but we agreed to include it? The same thing's happening here, except VibeQuake wrote most of this chapter ;) The entire speech Kirk gives is hers xD xD If you ever see a speech in one of our stories, chances are high that she's the one who wrote it because she's amazing at coming up with/writing speeches**

Months later, Elouise lied in her bed, sleeping, when, suddenly, her phone rang. Cringing against the brightness of the screen, she checked the caller ID and then answered it with, "Kirk? It's three in the morning."

"I... I know... Sorry... Hey, do you think you could meet me somewhere?"

Elouise yawned. "Now?"

"Y-Yeah, that would be great..."

Elouise grinned and rolled her eyes. "Okay, where do you want me to meet you?"

"Danville Park."

Elouise chuckled. "Of course. Alright, I'll be there in ten."

"Great!" Kirk sounded both excited and nervous.

 _I wonder what he's up to this time,_ Elouise thought amusedly.

She got dressed and made it to the park. When Elouise found him, he was on a bridge over the river. "Hey!"

"Hey," Elouise grinned, rushing onto the bridge next to him.

Kirk smiled at Elouise, taking her into his arms. She couldn't say she had missed this, because she had just experienced it only hours before. However, she knew she loved being in Kirk's arms. She would never get tired of it.

"Elouise, I..." Kirk hesitated. "I want to ask you something."

"Sure," beamed Elouise.

"Well..." Kirk paused again. "Truthfully, I could talk about you all day and all night and I'd still have a million more things to say. But too many words become meaningless, so I'll just leave it at you're the most wonderful person I've ever met and I can't imagine not having you in my life."

Elouise smiled shyly. "Thank you, Kirk."

"I'm not perfect," Kirk sighed. "I'll annoy you, tick you off, say stupid things, and then take them back. But put all that aside, you'll never find a person who cares for and loves you more than me." He smiled. "You make me love myself, Elouise. I love my eyes when you look into them. I love my name when you say it. I love my heart when you touch it. I love my life when you are in it."

Elouise was speechless.

"I'd rather have bad times with you than good times with someone else. I'd rather be beside you in a storm than safe and warm by myself. I'd rather have hard times together than to have it easy apart. I'd rather have the one who holds my heart."

"So would I," said Elouise warmly, squeezing Kirk's hands. "You're everything I've ever wanted and more."

"You really have no idea how much you impacted my life," Kirk said quietly. "I had built up walls, separating myself from everyone. You broke down my walls without me even noticing. And when you rebuilt the walls, you added windows to let the sunshine in. But that's not all you let in." Kirk chuckled. "You basically let yourself right in."

Elouise also chuckled.

"You didn't just let sunshine in, you became my sunshine," continued Kirk. "I don't want to live a day without you, so I-I guess what I'm asking is..." Kirk hesitated, his breathing increasing.

"Kirk?" Elouise frowned, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I-I-I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" Kirk blurted out. "W-Will you marry me?"

Elouise's eyes widened and tears threatened her vision. But when the initial shock had worn off, she couldn't think of any other answer apart from, "YES!"

It was the happiest "yes" Kirk had ever heard or received.

 **AW! Perfect ending for the series, right? xD xD Welp…. Not for VibeQuake and I xD We kept going, and there shall be one more story in this trilogy before we are done I:} You have been warned…..**

 **On that bright note, I bid you adieu until the next story!**


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